Bed



July 22 1969 y J. o. BLACK 3,456,266

BED

Filed NOV. 30. 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet l L I l v INVENTOR.

July 22, 1969 .1.0. BLACK 3,456,266

3,456,266 BED John O. Black, 18094 Parkside, Detroit, Mich. 48221 Filed Nov. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 686,950 Int. Cl. A47c 19/00 U.S. Cl. -8 1 'Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A convertible bed-couch assembly comprised of two separate cushion or mattress-like members supported by their respecti-ve frames on casters such that relative pivotal and lateral movement of the frames enables the assembly to be converted either into a couch with a backrest or into side-by-side beds with corresponding headboards. To facilitate the pivotal movement each bed frame contains therein a channeled guide means which enables the frames to be rotated and moved laterally from one position to the other.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Reference is here made to applicants copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 686,949, entitled, Bed, tiled concurrently herewith on Nov. 30, 1967.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention broadly relates to a bed assembly and more particularly to a convertible bed-couch assembly having at least two portions that may be freely swung from a bed position to a couch position.

State of the prior art relating to this invention is shown by my issued U.S. Patent 3,325,830. Although the structure shown in the above mentioned issued patent provides a very convenient operation, there is no headboard which can be used when the bed is in either of two positions, and which acts as a backrest when the bed is used as a couch.

Accordingly, a principal object -of this invention is to provide an improved bed assembly.

A further object is a bed assembly having pivotal and laterally movable portions adaptable to form a couch with backrest, or side-by-side beds with headboards.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claim, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals denote like elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE l is a perspective View of a bed assembly ernbodying this invention, showing the bed portions in their position to function as a couch;

FIGURE 2 is a front view taken along the line 2-2 of the bed-couch assembly of FIG. l partly in cutaway view to illustrate a channeled guide or telescoping means within the framework of each bed enabling the assembly to be moved from one position to another;

FIGURE 3 is a View taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detailed View showing the channeled guide or telescoping means within the dotted zone line 4 of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view Aof the assembly of FIG. 1 in couch position;

FIGURE 6 is also a top plan view of the couch assembly as shown in FIG. 5, but with one of the bed portions partially pivoted outwardly to show the transition which occurs in converting the assembly from a couch to a set of beds;

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of the assembly con- United States Patent O verted into a position suitable for use as double or twin beds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Broadly stated, the present invention comprises: a first mattress supporting portion, means supporting said first portion upon a floor, at least one other mattress supporting portion, means supporting said other portion upon a oor, means operable to function as a Vbackrest when the assembly is in a couch position and to function as a headboard when the assembly is in a side-by-side bed position, track means positioned within each said portions for guiding rotational and lateral movement of the portions between said positions, means on the floor for cooperating with the track means and operable to regulate lateral movement of the track means.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now in detail to the drawings, a bed assembly embodying this invention is identified generally by the reference numeral 11. The bed assembly 11 comprises two bed portions 13 and 15 which have supporting frames 14 and 16 respectively. Each of the frames 14 and 16 support mattresses 17 and 18 respectively. The frames are supported for rolling movement on casters such as shown at 19.

The assembly also comprises twin support members 30 and 32 which have cushion members 33 on one side thereof to act as a backrest member when the assembly is in the couch position or to act as headboard members when the assembly is moved into bed positions.

FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 show a channeled guide means or telescoping means designated 40 mounted within each of the bed frames 14 and 16, with the only difference between the channeled guide means being the difference of right and left hand orientation.

The channeled guide means 40 is comprised of a back and forth channel slide portion 41 which forms a slide path for the member 43 within the channel 41. The member 43 is stationarily positioned to a floor mount member 45 by suitable means such as a ball joint member `47 and a connector arm 49. Thus, member 45 is generally stationary with respect to the surface -or floor 51 on which it is mounted, but the ball socket member 47 can freely rotate within the mounting member 45 and hence also the slide member 43 can rotate with respect to the floor but the member 43 will not move away from its mount within the fixed member 45 when the bed frame is rotated from one position to another. Hence the channeled guide means 40 may be slid back and forth relative to the member 43, but the member 43 is laterally fixed relative to the fioor 51, but it can rotate with respect to the floor due to its ball socket mounting member 47 within the member 45.

FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 show the assembly in transition from a couch in FIGURE 5 to a twin bed position in FIGURE 7. In order to rotate the :couch as shown in FIGURE 5 into a twin bed position, the procedure is as follows. The end 60 of the couch is manually moved in the direction of the arrow 62 and the end 60 will freely roll on its casters 19. Such movement of the bed `15 causes it to rotate about the rotation point formed by the ball socket member 47. As soon as the bed is rotated substantially to the position as shown by the dotted lines indicating the bed 15a, as shown in FIGURE 7, then the necessary rotation is essentially complete and the bed is pushed inwardly toward the headboard 32. Inward movement of the bed 15a towards the headboard 32 is guided and controlled by the channeled guide means 40 sliding over the member 43. Inward movement of the bed is stopped when the member 43 reaches the end limit of its travel within the channel 41, that is when it reaches the end designated 70 in FIGURE 4. As will also be obvious from the drawings, rotation of the bed 15 from a couch position into a twin bed position, as shown in FIGURE 7 may also be carried out in a manner such that rotation and inward movement of the bed toward the headboard 32 occur somewhat simultaneously and this is limited only by the fact that the corner 66 must only be free and clear of the lower headboard member 67 before it is attempted to initiate inward pushing of the bed 15 toward the headboard 32.

' An additional :feature of the invention is shown most clearly in FIGURES 2, 3, 5 and 7. When the bed 15 as shown in FIGURE 7 is pulled away from the headboard indicated by the dotted line designation of the bed 15a and then rotated counterclockwise to turn the bed 15 to a couch position, the caster or wheel 90 in moving back to the position it assumes when the bed i5 is in couch position eventually contacts the raised stationary member 72 which projects as a stop member to prevent the bed 15 from rotating further, and it also acts to position the bed in its couch position relative to the headboard 32.

What is claimed is:

1. A bed-couch assembly comprising a rst mattress supporting portion,

rst means supporting said rst portion upon a loor,

a second mattress supporting portion said first and second portions being in right hand-left hand orientation relative to one another when the assembly is in either a bed position or in a couch position,

second means supporting said other portion upon a oor said rst and second means being in right hand-left hand orientation relative to one another when the assembly is in either a bed position or in a couch position,

means operable to function as a backrest when the assembly is in a couch position and to function as a headboard when the assembly is in a side-by-side bed position,

first and second track means positioned within each said portions for guiding rotational and lateral movement of the portions between said positions, said rst and second track means being in right hand-left hand orientation relative to one another when the assembly is in either a bed position or in a icouch position,

iirst and second means on the Hoor 'for cooperating with the track means and operable to regulate lateral movement of the track means, said means including slide members slidably connected to the track means but not rotationally movable relative to the track means, said rst and second means being in right hand-left hand orientation relative to one another when the assembly is in either a bed position or in a couch position,

stop means positioned on the floor for interrupting rotational movement of the portions when the assembly is being converted from a bed position to a couch position, said iirst and second stop means being in right hand-left hand orientation relative to one another `when the assembly is in either a bed position or in a couch position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,076,977 2/'1963 Maguire 5 3 3,350,725 1l/1967 Fasanella 5-20 CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner U.S. CI. X.R. 5-20 

